Spring in Lower 48 U.S. States Is Warmest on Record

June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Spring in the contiguous U.S. was the
warmest on record, capping the hottest 12-month period in data
going back 117 years, the National Climatic Data Center said.

The national average temperature from March through May was
57.1 degrees Fahrenheit (14 Celsius), 5.2 degrees above the
long-term average and 2 degrees warmer than the previous mark
set in 1910, said the data center in Asheville, North Carolina.

The period from June 2011 through May was the warmest 12
months on record in the contiguous U.S. The national average
temperature was 56 degrees, surpassing the old mark for May 2011
through April by 0.4 degree, the center said in its monthly
“State of the Climate” report.

A record high national average temperature for January
through May helped send natural gas to a 10-year low as less was
needed to warm homes and businesses.

“The spring of 2012 was the culmination of the warmest
March, third-warmest April, and second-warmest May,” the report
said. “This marks the first time that all three months during
the spring season ranked among the 10 warmest since record-keeping began in 1895.”

Forty-two states had top-10 warmest springs, with the
period setting records in 31 states. Record-keeping began in
1895.

Designating Season

Meteorologists designate spring as being from March 1
through May 31. The calendar season starts spring on the
equinox, which was March 20 this year, and ends it at the
solstice, June 20.

For the year ended May 31, every state in the contiguous
U.S. had above-average temperatures except Washington, which was
near normal.

“The 12-month period encapsulated the second-warmest
summer, fourth-warmest winter and the warmest spring on
record,” the center said.

The average May temperature in the lower 48 states was 64.3
degrees, the highest behind 1934, which was 65.4, according to
the center.

As of May 29, 37.4 percent of the contiguous U.S. had
drought conditions, down from 38.2 percent at the start of the
month, the report said.

The U.S. also experienced a record number of extreme
weather events, from temperatures to tropical storms, from March
through May, according to the report. The U.S. Climate Extremes
Index is at 44 percent, more than twice the mean of 20 percent.